


These Days

by jattendrai



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Celebrations, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Married Life, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-18 16:22:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21580510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jattendrai/pseuds/jattendrai
Summary: “ But it is nice. I would do it all over, to see them grow again.” She sipped her wine. Alphys just stared at her glass, thinking.“ I’m glad you g-got this chance.” Was all she could think to say.
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 44





	These Days

**Author's Note:**

> calling undyne a ''wife'' feels disgusting and thats the lesbian energies protecting her. She's a husband, a partner, and I LOVE it.  
> Fic named after Nico's "These Days'', but more inspired by Velvet Underground's "After Hours" in tone and a little bit of The National's "Start A War''. All of those are bands/singers my mom likes, surprisingly, ha.

The sun coming in through the window was what always woke Alphys up.

Not being used to it tapping at her shoulder and grazing her lids, she would be shaken awake by the sudden coming of light and warmth. To anybody else this might be something wonderful, and to cherish the feeling --- Toriel has talked about how she likes how it looks when it filters in to her room.

But she hated it, in all honesty. The curtains should’ve done their job in keeping them out.

But it’s become routine, despite her grumbling. Waking up to the sun, she’d glare at the window before rolling over to hide, and come to find the other side of the lumpy bed empty.

The door to the room would be open, too, and from here she could hear the sound of boots stomping around in another part of the house. Undyne always wore her work shoes the moment she got out of bed, despite how clunky and loud they were.

She always woke up earlier than Alphys to cook, rolling up the sleeves on her button-up and actually, genuinely making a decent meal; she had skill, and could turn anything they had in the cabinets that day into a meal worthy of royalty --- she just sometimes liked to get messy with it, sometimes. Tomato stains white walls, so they opted to a beige-yellow type when moving in.

Sometimes Alphys would get out of bed and watch her from the hallway. She always thought how Undyne worked when alone was very charming: how she’d move her hands and body around in small dance-like motions, shimming from the stove to the sink to wash her hands; how she’d sometimes wipe her hands against her pants without thinking, or how she’d talk to herself like she was a chef on reality TV. She would giggle when Undyne would swipe a chug from the red wine she was using to cook, outing her spot to her husband and revealing she’s been watching the whole time. She’d look like a deer caught in the headlights for a moment, wine bottle still tipped to her lips, before letting out a roaring laugh and saying, “ Good!! You can wash the vegetables for me, then.”

But today, Alphys stayed in bed and just listened to the commotion from there. She was knocking around pots and pans, Alphys almost slipping back into sleep, before she abruptly appeared in the doorway. She was holding a massive bottle of canola oil.

“ Psst,” She locked eyes with Alphys, “ Where’s the vegetable oil?”

“ Hm. We’re out.”

Undyne turned and let out a loud ‘fuck!’ that echoed down the hall before turning back to look at her wife, “ Guess I'll have to use this then. Hope you like oily rice.”

Alphys just laughed and rubbed her eyes as Undyne returned to cooking. It was nice to finally have a wide selection of foods, being above ground now. Ramen and weird goo can only sustain someone for so long.

Though, Alphys remembers, how disgusting everything tasted when they first moved in together and experienced actual, organic food. Undyne had a stomach to hold it, but eating healthy only made Alphys feel like her body was shutting down for a straight week.

Reminiscing on those early days in bed would be nice, but Alphys had to get up; they had preparations to do today, both her and Undyne. 

There would be a party at their place, something to celebrate ten years of being above ground --- god, did that ring in Alphys’ head weirdly, ten years --- it felt just like yesterday that they were breathing in the fresh new air and looking out at the sunset like a savior.

Now Alphys just squinted at that mac’n cheese colored ball in the sky as she closed the curtain further to change.

Her chronic fatigue sometimes made it hard to put on a very complex outfit, and after living in nothing but lab coats it was almost impossible for her to find the energy to wear anything that wasn’t single pieces, so she decided on an oversized shirt and leggings. No matter how much like shit she’d dress, she knew once she stepped out into the kitchen that Undyne would turn and smile at her, telling how she looks “real hot!” in whatever anime shirt she decided on for the day.

It was nice though. She never told Undyne to stop.

“ Voila!” Undyne threw her hands in the air. Alphys rubbed at her as Undyne brought the food to the kitchen table.

“ You forgot something.” She said.

Alphys looked at her, blurry and confused. She pointed at her eyes.

Ah, glasses! She was used to wearing contacts by now that she entirely forgot about them. Her prescription ran out last night, and she needed to get a new box some time.

She went to grab her old lenses from the bathroom while Undyne set up the table.

The plan for the day was Alphys taking care to fix up the house while Undyne is at work, and when she returns they’d do some light shopping for the party. It’s mostly Undyne going on and on about the preparations while Alphys eats her egg rice in relative silence, taking mental checknotes of what she forgot; buy wine, organize the bathroom, replace the wilting flowers in the living room ( Asgore regularly supplies them with a fresh batch every third Friday), and prepare the food.

“ That’ll be my job,” Undyne pointed her fork at herself, bowl empty. “ Papyrus might swing by early to help, however.”

“ MTT too?”

“ Of course he’s bringing that guy!! They’re superglued together at this point!! God!” Alphys laughed as Undyne got fired up. She knew her outbursts was exaggeration and nothing to take serious --- the way she threw her hands up and scrunched her face, how her cheeks would bloom read from the energy of her yelling --- Alphys found it all very charming, and it made Undyne’s handsomeness shine.

She was excited to catch up with Mettaton, thinking about it while helping Undyne with the dishes. She’s surprised that he ‘settled down’ as well, though she still sees his face and hears his voice on television a lot. Never quite as good as in person, though, because he doesn’t snort when he laughs on TV like he does on their couch after telling a bad joke.

Undyne fixes the large belt holding her jeans up and gives Alphys a kiss at the door, telling her she’ll be back by two. She was luckily working an early post-construction job across town, unlike earlier in her job where she’d be out from afternoon to night, coming home and rolling into bed exhausted and smelling like chemical cleaner.

But now she leaves early, and comes home smelling like freshly cut wood and the amber cologne that Mettaton generously gifted to her on her birthday, something that he described as matching ‘her personality’. Alphys had to agree; it smelled strong, and earthy, and very intense, taking up the space it wafted in.

She always bent down, with one hand grazing under Alphys’ neck and caressing her scaley beard as she laid a kiss on the top of her forehead, and she could smell that cologne on the color of her shirt. Alphys never gave a kiss in return, but that was the routine. They liked it like that.

It was barely even eight o’clock when Alphys started on the house; she had to get it done with first thing in the morning, before her fatigue took her away and collapsed her onto the couch. She managed quite a lot to her liking: fixing up the bathroom allowed her to get rid of her old medication bottles and clean out the cabinet where they hoarded soaps and body wash, and running over the carpet with a vacuum had spruced up the look of the place exponentially --- and thank god most the house was hardwood floor and just the living room was carpeted, because by eleven Alphys’ back was killing her.

Sometimes she wished they hadn’t gotten such a big house, knowing every day there was always a room that needed to be cleaned or organized --- but she also liked it, more times than she hated it. The wooden flooring was nice and cooling in the winter, the bathroom small with a tub big enough for them to share a bath together: the front yard was big enough for Alphys to keep up her tiny hobby of caring after potted succulents, and their backyard had a nice porch for them to lay on and read during the nice days when the breeze would shuffle across town.

Their room was large but cozy, and Undyne put together various shelves in various rooms for all of Alphys’ reading material and figurines. Finally she could display them nicely somewhere, and Undyne even promised to help make a light box for her more precious ones that she wanted to show off.

It was nice. It was cozy. It was big enough that if they ever brought children into the equation they wouldn’t have to worry about making room. For now though, their empty room was taken up by the ugliest computer on Earth, which was nice, too. Not as nice as a kid, but Alphys could work on it and Undyne would play minesweeper, so it was almost as good.

A good three hours on the couch re-energized her, however, and she managed into the kitchen to take count of what was needed to be bought for the party before heading to the store down the block.

Undyne always wanted booze, the expensive wine you’d get from the top shelf that came in pretty packaging with special corks and foil coverings. Alphys, on the other hand, had grown drinking bottom shelf vodka and boxed wine with Mettaton, the disgusting stuff that went down awfully but hit just right. When she gave Undyne a glass to try, she talked about the “hints of plastic bag” in it and made a face. It made Alphys laugh despite knowing how much she hated it.

Toriel and Mettaton would probably want the good stuff anyway, so she carefully purchased a few bottles and placed them next to the desserts and veggies she picked out. When Undyne returned home she would see the bottles on the kitchen counter and swoon.

“ Expensive stuff!” She’d exclaim while ogling the bottle. Alphys would give her a look, the ‘you asked for this’ look that would make Undyne laugh and give her another kiss to the forehead.

“ Welcome home, don’t drink the whole thing yourself!” Alphys pointed a claw at Undyne before she could reach for the cork; Undyne was a lush, but could hold her liquor. She was, however, a horrible enabler to her more lightweight friends.

As the meat thawed in the sink, and nothing needed to be cleaned, and their friends were still not coming for a good while, they found a moment to relax; Undyne had already blew off her daily complaining about her job ( new recruits not following instructions, the house being unfinished or the carpenters coming and messing up the freshly-cleaned rooms with their dirty carpets), and had already poured herself a small glass of wine and decided to recline on the couch. Alphys followed her into the room, looking to see if it was; when Undyne smiled, she took that as a ‘yes’ and crawled up to lay with her.

It was nice on her back, and Alphys laid her head on her husband’s chest solemnly. She listened as Undyne sipped her wine, breathing softly.

It was sometimes strange, to stretch to hear a heart beat; monsters don’t have a ‘heart’ that ‘beats’, as their body is all magic and compacted dust --- but human television and books and theatre always talked about the hum of your lover’s heart, the sound of it beating as you laid together. She even gave Mettaton a heartbeat in a sense, since his body whirred and thrummed and produced the closest thing a body of wires and core processors could produce.

But it was silent in Undyne’s chest --- but her body was warm against Alphys’, and her one arm wrapped around her was sturdy and nice, and the rumble from her low voice rambling was just enough, if not better, than a heartbeat.

“ What time did they say they’d be coming?”

Alphys hummed, “ I think four?” Undyne moved to check the watch on her wrist, but didn’t say anything, instead returning her hand to rub circles in her wife’s shoulder with her thumb. Alphys enjoyed the smallest affection, and curled closer up.

When they heard voices outside the house Undyne was the first move, with Alphys mumbling something about not wanting to get up; Undyne helped her up though, giving her a good, tight hug and telling her laying about all day is what gave her such a bad back --- but she didn’t say it with malicious intent, just balancing the reasoning to get up. Alphys knew the words to be true, anyway, with all those years of sitting at a computer watching her screen and doing very little else.

She moved to the kitchen while Undyne moved for the door, and found that the meat had not thawed to her liking. Didn’t matter, she thought, it was good enough. She’ll just run some hot water over it.

A sudden commotion of noise came from the living room ---- her and Papyrus were rather loud when they were in the same room, no tone control or energy control once they were in the house. But that’s too be expected, having once been attached at the hip as friends in the underground to forming their own separate lives. They didn’t see each other as much as they wanted to recently, so this party was especially nice for them.

Just as long as they didn’t break anything. But that’s to be expected with those two, anyway.

As Alphys was setting up the pot on the stove for a rather intensive helping of mashed potatoes, a figure moved into the kitchen; something tall, and lanky.

Before she could even respond, Mettaton had already pulled her into the world’s warmest hug with just one arm, the other holding something, “ Hello darling!!” He beamed in her ear, pulling back to reveal a very toothy smile.

It had been just as long of a while since they saw each other, too. Mettaton had altered his hair to be a little long, a little curlier, and he changed up how he wore his makeup; more subtle, more mature. Really began to show the metaphorical age of himself. 

“ I suppose this wasn’t necessary, seeing that you’re already stocked,” He shoved the object he was holding forward to Alphys, who took it in her own hands and turned it to see the label, “ But I suppose a little excess isn’t bad, hm?” 

Alphys raised the box of shitty wine like it was the Baby Jesus and exclaimed, “ Yes! Yes!” enthusiastically, pulling Mettaton into another hug.

It was shitty wine! It’s different than the other stuff, and he was the only one who understood that sometimes !! Sometimes shitty stuff just  _ tasted  _ better !!

  
  


After a small parade around the house with the coveted shitty sauvignon blanc in the box, Undyne and Papyrus took the reigns of the kitchen away from the others and forced them out while they did the cooking. They took place in the living room then, sitting down and idling chatting to each other about what was missed since the last time they met.

Mettaton’s life is good, not as eventful as it was pre-marriage, but he didn’t mind the slowing down of the days. Alphys asked about if he needed any repairs, but he was in pretty good condition for how long he went without one --- Papyrus did a good joke caring for him --- and his body was still going strong. She noted the curlier hair, and he said it was Papyrus’ idea. It suited his face more than the flat hair she gave him years ago.

Meanwhile, Papyrus and Undyne caused an absolute mess in the kitchen; the dinner came out fine, absolutely perfect, but there were knives and spoons and ladles strung all around the kitchen, particles and bits of chopped goods still on the counters, various messy plates already stored in the sink and all four burners taken up by some dish. They enthusiastically cooked, chatting about what new sports the other was trying and how they thought tomato with a pinch of salt tasted ( Undyne slapboxed Papyrus for saying it tasted good, when it’s obvious that stuff is nasty!! Eat a better snack!). It was like a tornado had blasted through the place once they were finished, and Undyne simply suggested nobody go in there during the duration of the party.

As if right on cue, another knock came softly at the door, interrupting the two in the living room as they had diverted into Alphys talking about her new set of model figurines to Mettaton. He carefully got up from the couch and answered the door for Alphys, and was met with a fluffy figure on the other side.

“ Greetings,” Toriel nodded her head at Mettaton as she made her way in; human houses were not constructed with monster height in mind, and Toriel had to slightly duck to get in through the door. Mettaton’s eyes lit up when Frisk followed in behind her, giving him their biggest smile before he tortured them, too, with a tight hug.

Frisk had grown up tall and wide set in the ten years since, just like their mother; but they wore a yellow long-sleeved dress with a button-up peering out from the neckline, and black stockings that paired nicely with the obscene amount of pearl jewelry they had on them. If their hair hadn’t been passed their shoulders you would’ve even been able to see the pearl earrings they wore.

Toriel stole Mettaton’s seat as he crooned over how much Frisk had grown. Alphys noticed that Toriel had began dressing just like Undyne; crisp white button-up, a nice tie, slacks and expensive looking shoes. She even grew out her beard and began to wear glasses with thicker rims.

“ It’s been a while,” Alphys laughed and offered her some wine. She shyly accepted a glass of the finer stuff.

“ It has, hasn’t it. How is your back? Undyne had hold me that you’ve been having a few problems with it.”

“ Just some aches and pains, it’s nothing.” She reclined herself against the armrest of the couch and brought her feet up, “ Frisk has grown up pretty fast, huh?”

They were in the kitchen now, receiving hugs and firm shoulder pats from the rest of them. It was so odd to see Frisk so tall, so much older now --- and so quickly. Monsters don’t age without a child to age alongside, so even though they were all well over five times Frisk’s age, they fit right in as they all grew up together.

Thought, on that note, Alphys could see the age Toriel was taking on from raising Frisk. She never would’ve thought she’d see the day where Toriel looked a little older, a little more worn down and aged. It suited her though; Toriel was ready for old age.

“ It’s strange, to finally watch a child of mine grow up,” Toriel chuckled a bit morbidly. She was more open about her experiences with the death of her children, all of them. It helped her cope.

“ But it is nice. I would do it all over, to see them grow again.” She sipped her wine. Alphys just stared at her glass, thinking.

“ I’m glad you g-got this chance.” Was all she could think to say.

“ Hey now,” Undyne clapped her hands to get their attention, “ Dinner’s done. Where ‘ya wanna eat?”

“ Can we not eat in the kitchen?”

Undyne, Papyrus, and Frisk all comically looked into the disaster that was the kitchen.

“ Uh, I think the living room would have more space.”

Despite it all, the food was delicious; Papyrus had gotten especially better over the years, and Undyne had already perfected her craft, so even a picky eater like Frisk didn’t have much objection to trying a little bit of everything. They passed the wine, however.

“ Soda. Frisk enjoys soda.” Toriel chimed in for them. They smacked the coffee table with their hands lightly when Undyne brought them a can of sprite.

It was a small party of just them, as most of the other monsters had either moved on from the city to explore new places and see new things, or they had simply crafted their own life, and no longer needed the tight-knit grouping with other monsters that they needed so much underground. It was a shame, sometimes, to lose a connection, and Alphys thinks about all the people she’d never see again, or at the very least as just passing strangers now.

But as they drank their wine and ate their food, and talked and gloated and argued about things silly and unworthwhile, Alphys could say she enjoyed it just like this; with Undyne sitting next to her, letting Alphys put her legs across her lap, chatting and stealing sips from her wine glass despite having her own. Looking over at Toriel, who still cared for Frisk and helped them through the world, being their voice when they didn’t want to talk and helping them with anything they couldn’t do. Toriel talked about how she still carried Frisk to bed even into their late teens, and the adoration between them, the child and mother bond, between a monster and a human…. It tickled something inside Alphys, something fuzzy and warm that made her smile and hope good things for the future.

The adoration Mettaton had over Frisk, the crooning and kindness and spoiling of them as if they were his own child --- and how affectionate he was with Papyrus, who took his adoration in with all of him. She had originally never saw it in the two to get together, but they looked immensely happy together, she had to give it to them. With Mettaton’s arms nearly constantly around his neck, his head pressed against his shoulder. They were the most supportive and giving couple she had ever met.

She and Undyne weren’t as affectionate, oh not nearly as much as them --- Undyne rarely threw an arm around Alphys, and kisses were private matters.

But that was how they operated, sort of the opposite of her friends; the private touches and kisses and names, the unique affections and way of showing their love for another was their own personal language that nobody else could speak --- so even if they sat away from each other, never holding hands or calling each other sweet things or kissing each other’s cheek, they didn’t mind. They liked it, like that.

Plus, it was more fun in the moment to scream and giggle like little kids when Mettaton laid a peck on Papyrus’ cheek just to see him embarrassed, or to prod at Toriel about when she was going to get Frisk ‘another mother’, cornering and questioning the old goat about if any lovely ladies were in her life. It was fun to laugh with their friends, to drink their wine and talk about nothing, picking at their plates and simply existing next to each other.

Once the wine had run dry and the food had gone cold, the Dreemurrs offered to help clean up with Undyne, with Alphys had a chance to talk with Mettaton and Papyrus more personally. It was a fun little night, and it was only after everybody was up and ready to leave that Alphys had realized that they didn’t even talk about what they were celebrating! So much of the time was spent hounding Toriel about her love life, asking Frisk what their Purim plans were, seeing how much they could get Papyrus to blush at the affection of his husband --- they were so caught up in their new lives to think about the past, and when she brought up to Undyne that night, she laughed.

“ Maybe that’s for the best,” she said, shoving her toothbrush up and around her gnarly teeth, “ It’s good to forget the bad stuff.”

Alphys took one of her medications and hummed in approval.

The leftovers were packed and in the fridge, the dishes cleaned and organized, the wine bottles disposed of. Alphys was the first into bed after having not changed out of her clothes ( they were good enough to sleep in! listen!) while Undyne opted out of her shirt and into a tank and boxers. The cologne still lingered on her body even after the day had passed.

Undyne slides under the clothes, last preparations made as she unties her hair and lets her miles of tangled red locks fall. She stretched hard enough for her back to crack something audible, and Alphys laughed from under the covers.

Maybe it was the outrageous amounts of wine she sucked down that night, or watching Mettaton and Papyrus be so affectionate ( she feigns the hatred act against Mettaton purely for show at this point, thought she’d never admit to thinking of them as a cute couple to anybody besides Alphys), but Undyne moved to put her arms around Alphys from behind, sticking her head into her wife’s shoulder. This was unusual, as they slept separately on most nights, but Alphys did not shy away from the affection.

It was how they were, after all. And she liked it just as it was.

Her husband hummed into her shoulder, something like a ‘’goodnight’’, and she hummed back. She felt warm and loved in Undyne’s arms, and it made falling asleep the easiest thing on earth.


End file.
